Maybe you’ve heard one of these stories. A spouse finds out that a ‘better half’ is being unfaithful by snooping through email inboxes, or tracking software spies on what websites that spouse is visiting. Well take that one step further. Now, digital evidence is starting to turn up in divorce cases, as
this New York Times article explores.
Do you have any stories of divorce and digital evidence? What do you think about the use of email correspondence in divorce cases. We’d like to get your thoughts on the air.
I am a computer/network security testing consultant and also a consultant for corporations dealing with fraudulent or illicit data. My services have been used to find and recover data dealing with the affairs and (sometimes) finances of unfaithful spouses. Once I was asked by the lawyer of one spouse to check into the internet history of a spouse who it was alleged used the internet to “hook up” with other women using sites like facebook, myspace and okcupid. The spouse was doing this at work, and because there was a ethics clause in his contract the company he worked for expressed interest in getting to the bottom of the allegations. The company (its IT dept was too small to investigate this) granted me the rights to penetrate their network and use their network to monitor the spouses online behaviour, collect passwords, monitor emails and gather a variety of other information. After a few months of observation it was discovered that the spouse indeed was using the internet to contact sexual partners, but was also dealing in insider trading and selling company trade secrets to a competitor. This information was given to both the company and the “victims” lawyers. The authorities were also alerted as to the insider trading and insider information selling. The divorce has since been finalized and currently the fraudulent trading and information selling is being investigated, no charges have yet been laid. I was used as an expert witness in the divorce proceedings. More and more often am I being contacted to help investigate the electronic activities of peoples partners.
This should come as no surprise as we move into the digital age. Evidence will continue to become increasingly digital, just like everything else in our has.
i think that it is crazy…but i guess it is still evidence. http://www.softailmotorcycles.net